Boat light



Dec. 27, 1960 J. P. MALEC BOAT LIGHT Filed March 16, 1959 Fi 6 /NVENT'OR JERRY P MALEC l I 27 r Arm/ems Y WITNESS 746% 27 W United States Patent 2,966,579 BOAT LIGHT Jerry P. Malec, Omaha, Nebr., assignor to Comet Industries, Inc., Omaha, Nebr., a corporation of Nebraska Filed Mar. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 799,559

1 Claim. (Cl. 2407.5)

This invention relates to boat lights and more particularly to electrical boat head lamps.

The practice of using lamps on boats is old. Many boats even have movable spot lights but, due to certain difliculties such as the various hull shapes and to the problem of moisture, boats herebefore have not had successful head lamps such as employed by other vehicles, such as automobiles, trucks and like.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a head lamp construction that is adapted for successful use on boats.

A further object of this invention is to provide head lamps that are water, spray, and moisture proof.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a head light construction for boats that permits easy beam direction adjustment.

A still further object of this invention is to provide boat head lamps that are easily installed.

Still further objects of my invention are to provide boat head lamps that are economical in manufacture, durable in use, and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front sectional view of a boat showing one of my head lamps installed,

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fixture parts that make up a lamp unit,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the rear portion of one of my lamp units,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of a lamp unit illustrating the method of adjusting the horizontal throw of the light beam,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the rear portion of one of my lamp units and more fully illustrates its construction, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side view of one of my lamp units illustrating the method of adjusting the vertical throw of the light beam.

In these drawings I have used the numeral 10 to gen erally designate a boat. I recommend the use of two of my head lamps for a boat, i.e., one on each side of its prow. However, inasmuch as each lamp is a duplicate of the other, I will describe only the structure and operation of one lamp.

The numeral 11 designates a tube having its rear end straight and transverse of its longitudinal axis. However, the forward end of the tube cylinder extends at an angle to its longitudinal axis, as shown in Fig. 4. 'The tube is open at both ends, but on the forward end is a radially extending rim flange 12. This rim flange also extends at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the tube. To install my lamp, a hole is cut in the forward side of the hull of the boat and of a diameter only slightly larger than that of the outside diameter of the tube. The rear end of the tube is placed through the cut hole from a position outside the boat and its inward movement through the hole will only be stopped by the rim flange 12 engaging the outer side of the hull. A water-proof gasket may be placed between the boat hull and the back side of the rim flange. By the rim flange 12 extending at an angle to the tube, it will conform to the direction of the forwardly and inwardly extending forward side of the boat hull. The rim flange is closely adjacent the hull surface and is secured thereto by any suitable means such as bolts, screws or like 13. The longitudinal axis of the tube cylinder, however, will extend substantially forwardly and parallel with the longitudinal axis of the boat. The numeral 15 designates a flexible, resilient, water-proof sleeve of rubber or like material. The inside forward end area of this sleeve is substantially thickened and formed to have an internal ring groove 16 as shown in Fig. 5. This ring groove is circular in cross section to flexibly, resiliently, detachably embrace and engage the outer side periphery of an ordinary incandescent electric light bulb 17. By this arrangement, electric light bulbs may be easily and quickly inserted into or removed from the socket of the ring groove. By the electric light bulb being tightly embraced by the forward end of the sleeve, the rear end of the bulb will be sealed against Water, moisture, spray or like. The normal outside diameter of the sleeve will be substantially that of the inside diameter of the tube 11. The forward end portion of the sleeve is inserted into the rear end of the tube. Then the rear end portion of the flexible resilient sleeve is turned inside out and forwardly to engage the outer rear end portion of the tube as shown in Fig. 3. Thus the sleeve will embrace the rear end, outer rear side, and inner rear side of the tube 11. If the outer rear part of the sleeve is straight on the tube, the light rays from the bulb will extend directly forwardly and parallel with the axis of the tube. However, by fitting the sleeve at various angles onto the rear end of the tube, the bulb will accordingly be adjusted both vertically and horizontally to cast its rays at various desired angles to the longitudinal axis of the tube and the boat. These adjustments are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 6. After the sleeve has been positioned as desired, an ordinary clamp ring 19 is placed around the outer rear end of the sleeve as shown in Fig. 3. By the tightening of this clamp ring the sleeve will not only be rigidly clamped on and to the rear end of the sleeve but the assembly will be water-proof. The rear end of the unit and rear end of the bulb will be inside the boat and protected from contact with outside water.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my boat light without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within its scope.

I claim:

In a boat lamp, a tube having its rear end extending transversely of its longitudinal axis and its forward and extending at an angle to its longitudinal axis, a means for securing said tube in a hole in the hull of a boat, a flexible resilient sleeve having its forward end extending into the rear end of said tube and its rear portion doubled back over and around and onto the outer rear end portion of said tube; said flexible resilient sleeve being in slidable engagement with the inside of said tube, said sleeve having an internal rim groove in its forward end portion and capable of being positioned at difierent angles relative to the longitudinal axis of said tube, a clamp ring detachably embracing that portion of said sleeve that is doubled back over the outer rear outer side of said tube, and an electric light bulb detachably embraced by the internal ring groove of said sleeve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Salaam 

